


one big step, starting here

by twigs



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alarkling - Freeform, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Violence, i will add pairings and characters and tags as the story continues, not sure were this is going yet, so far - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 12:09:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14308335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twigs/pseuds/twigs
Summary: She still remembered the moment when he got off the sleek horse, black hair tousled from the wind like the breeze had brushed the locks from his brow with a lover’s touch ...





	one big step, starting here

We have kept that pride for hundreds of years  
We have come through everything never letting up once  
One big step, starting here  
On this up-and-coming night  
Crossing over arirang pass

 

She still remembered the moment when he got off the sleek horse, black hair tousled from the wind like the breeze had brushed the locks from his brow with a lover’s touch and his dark black travel kefka creating a dramatic but intimidating effect as it billowed behind him with every step he took. It gave him an air of importance and urgency. His stallion pranced anxiously full barely retained energy, nostrils flared and a thin sheet of sweat still coated it´s elegant neck. 

The darklings brought his hands down and with a bang the cut cleanly separated the fjerdans frame, that held pinned her down to the ground, into two halfs. One half fell to her left, the other hit the ground to her right with a sickening thud and blood began pooling in deep dark red rivers, out of the damaged vessel.  
Wet fluid warmed her hands and soiled her linen cartographer uniform, coloring the beige brown in an ugly bright red tone. 

That was the moment alina´s adrenalin fueled mind began asking itself if the fjerdans killing commando really was the biggest danger here. He had saved her from a fate of getting grueling carved out and her cadaver carelessly thrown to the side of the road for the wolfs to feed on, but her subconscious couldn´t let the inhumanity with what experienced efficiency and accuracy he had acted, completely go. 

When he tried to reach for her, she couldn´t help but instantly jerked back, her heart threatening to burst through her rip cage, an unsteady pounding and stumbling.  
“Shhhh, you are safe now”, he tried to soothe her and gently brushed a wild dirty lock out of her face and pinned it behind her ear.  
The sheer terror that cursed through her veins froze her body on the spot and she could do nothing but stare at him wide-eyed and ghastly pale, even though her mind screamed for her to run for her life. To run and run and run and to never look back, if she wanted to have a chance of survival.

“Don´t”, the plea left her chapped lips and she tasted blood, if it was her own or the fjerdans she didn´t know. 

Did she hurt herself when the fjerdan had thrown her to the ground? Or did she smack her cheek when she was pushed against the carriage handle? She couldn´t remember. 

The fighting noise had creased, Alina realized, were they all dead, the fjerdan attackers? A base part in her hoped so, then they wouldn´t be able to come back and finish what they started.  
The darkling reached for her hand that still held her upper body propped up, but she shied away once again.

“Alina, I will never hurt you, I promise, but I need you to stand up and come with me now”, his hand hovered in front of her and he seemed to be waiting for something, even though an urgency tied his voice.

A slight frown marred his face and Alina realized she stared when his quartz grey gaze caught hers.  
She instantly adverted her eyes and as if on autopilot she grabbed the offered hand, which instantly clasped hers in a strong grip, the leather of the thin glove still a bit warm and smooth under her fingers, as he pulled her to her feet. But he didn´t let her go as alina expected once she stood, instead he pulled her close into the shadow of his body the gesture feeling oddly protecting and comforting. 

She looked back to where the small red rivers had formed a bloody lake and to the two mountains that served as the rivers morbid spring. Raw flesh and whiteish bones and transculent veins seemed to form the landscape and Alina felt bile rise in her mouth. Bitter and burning.  
A determined hand grasped her chin und turned her gaze away, guiding her face towards a dark clothed shoulder.  
Without a second thought Alina closed her eyes and accepted the offered support, but behind her lids a movie played on and on in an infinite loop. 

“I came as soon as I could, I am sorry it wasn´t fast enough to spare you this experience”, the back of his knuckles brushed her cheek and alina bit her lip in an effort not to start sobbing.  
“Come on, we need get back to the little palace as fast as possible, your safety is our priority.”

Alone his steady grip on her shoulder kept her upright as he lead Alina back towards the small group. Alina didn´t know if they had lost someone, but only a few seemed to be minorly injured and the majority was unharmed.  
The darkling barked a few orders, Alina didn´t bother to decipher the words from the white noise ringing in her ears, like the most annoying melody on earth. She was too busy keeping the bile down her throat and not to break down in a shivering mess. 

Breath Alina, breath!

The Darkling got on his horse and Alina was abruptly snapped out of her thoughts as hands wrapped around her waist to lift her up.  
She found herself on the saddle in front of the darkling, his one arm wrapped around her thin frame for a second to move her body into a better position and she ended up closely pressed against, caught between his arms. He kept a firm grip on the reigns of his restless stallion.

“The carriage…”, she pressed out, her trembling hands desperately searching for something to hold on and successfully discovering the uprising on the saddle.

“We will be much faster without it, much more inconspicuous anyways.” 

A warm breath grazed her ear so painfully similar to the way the fjerdan had breathed down on her and she whimpered silently. Blood so much blood. The day had cost her so much and Alina could only hope the price didn´t include her sanity.  
She hadn´t expected how close they sat, but she felt every slight move each time he moved even the slight up and down each time he took and released a breath. 

The beautiful animal started moving and Alina felt the sleek but admirable strong muscles beneath her legs. 

“Ah.” Breath Alina, breath! Her gaze found her hands, crusted with the dried blood some under her fingernails.

The darkling shifted the reigns into one hand and he pulled of his glove, pushing it into his kefka pocket and then Alina felt a warm hand settling on her neck.  
A rush of surety and calmness soothed her frayed nerves, coursed though her so powerful that her whole body silently signed in relief as the tension seeped away, leaving her limp and drowsy. Sleep tugged on her heavy lids, darkness that offered her oblivion and a mind-numbing peace she could quickly get addicted to, but she forced herself not to give in to the temptation. 

“What´s happening?” 

She forced herself to stay conscious and leaned forward in an attempt to shake off his hand but honestly, she never wanted this feeling to leave, it felt so good.

“Rest alina, you have nothing to fear anymore.” 

And oddly she believed him. He, who was the most powerful and most feared grisha in whole ravka.  
His low mumble barely breached her conciseness and then everything became dark and her frail body sacked into itself as her head rested against his shoulder. The darkling instantly recognized the moment her mind shut down and he caught her and shifted her into a secure embrace that allowed him to keep the tempo up.

**Author's Note:**

> tbc
> 
> feedback, comments, critic is all very welcome !!!


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